History meets future in Italian Village

Sunday

Jan 30, 2011 at 12:01 AMJan 30, 2011 at 4:20 PM

The recession has slowed some projects, but residents feel good about the strength of their neighborhood.

A century ago, many Italians did make their home in the neighborhood just north of Downtown that now bears their name. But so did the Irish and Lebanese, Greeks and Germans - all immigrants eager to build new lives.

"A big, giant melting pot," said Joe Pishitelli, 83, who grew up in the neighborhood in the 1930s. "These people lived where the jobs were available." Those jobs could be found within walking distance at the sprawling Jeffrey Manufacturing Co. complex lining N. 4th Street, the Berry Bolt Works and Timken Roller Bearing, to name a few. Today, residents are more likely to be young professionals interested in restoring the 100-year-old homes in the neighborhood.

Italian Village is just east of the shops and restaurants of the Short North. To help better identify it, signs are being placed along main streets leading into the area.

The neighborhood was annexed to Columbus in 1862 and is known for its Italianate architecture. A great example is St. John the Baptist Italian Catholic Church, built in 1898. Each fall, the church anchors the Columbus Italian Festival, a hub of good food and music, singing and dancing, bocce and films.

The church was built for Italian immigrants who lived in nearby neighborhoods, including Flytown to the west, where Goodale Park is today, and along St. Clair Avenue to the east, said the Rev. William A. Metzger, pastor at St. John's and the administrator at nearby Sacred Heart Church.

The festival draws attention to the church and neighborhood, where residents have renovated their old houses while new ones - designed to fit in with the neighborhood - have gone up in recent years.

Between 2002 and 2005, houses in Italian Village increased in value 61 percent, the biggest jump in Franklin County. Since the recession began in 2007, building activity has tailed off. But developers are still working to build on vacant corners.

"The neighborhood is coming back," Metzger said.

Italian Village provides a less-expensive option to the Short North and Victorian Village, said developer Joe Armeni.

It's a blend of new and old. In 2004, the award-winning New Village Place apartments, a colorful array of one-, two- and three-bedroom town houses, opened on the site of what had been Taylor Terrace, a crime-plagued public-housing complex.

Nearby, Zachary M. Klein, one of two newly appointed Columbus City Council members, lives in a town house built in 2003.

Klein and his wife, Jennie Persichetti, were married in St. John's in 2007. Her parents attended the church, and the couple became involved in activities there, including the festival.

"Jennie and I, when we got married, looked for a neighborhood close to Downtown and the Short North," said Klein, 31, a lawyer.

Klein said he is excited about the potential of Wonderland, the former site of the Wonder Bread bakery on N. 4th Street, which a group of younger entrepreneurs is redeveloping into art and recording studios, rehearsal space and stores.

Some highly visible projects have stalled, including Ibiza, the proposed 135-unit condominium project on N. High Street that remains a vacant lot, and Jeffrey Place, the condominium and commercial project proposed a decade ago.

Jeffrey Place, a 41.5-acre site, frustrates Chris Vidoni, a member of the Italian Village Society board who lives nearby on N. 4th Street.

"It's a gateway to the neighborhood," he said. "It's not very pleasing to the eye."

Other projects continue to move along.

Last week, developer Joel Pizzuti updated neighborhood leaders on the planned 135-unit boutique hotel along High Street on the Italian Village side of the Short North.

The size and scope of the plan, which includes a parking garage west of High Street, sparked concern among members of the Italian Village Commission, which determines whether new homes or renovations fit the community's character.

Pizzuti said he is refining the facade and building materials to make sure they're what the neighborhood wants.

The project, which Pizzuti said he hopes to start this summer, could cost up to $50million, a pricey addition to a neighborhood that has been through hard times.

People began moving to the suburbs after World WarII and continued the migration into the 1970s. In 1972, residents formed the Italian Village Society to help turn things around.

Pishitelli, a retired Columbus firefighter, grew up poor on Hamlet Street in the heart of the neighborhood. He is a lifelong member of St. John's and still attends Mass there each week. He wrote a booklet on the church's history in its centennial year.

Pishitelli lived in the neighborhood until 1956, when his parents' home was demolished to make way for the 3rd Street viaduct.

He said the neighborhood fire station, which was half a block from where he lived, was a big part of his childhood. He remembers one firefighter who dressed as Santa Claus every Christmas for the neighborhood kids.

"He knew all our names," said Pishitelli, who now lives on the East Side. "They were always involved with children they knew were less fortunate."

Did they play a role in his becoming a firefighter?

"One hundred percent," he said.

"I will always be part of that neighborhood. It is never going to leave me."

mferenchik@dispatch.com

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.